If you’re looking to figure out how to take the first steps in sustainability, know that someone has likely gone before you. Most sustainability planners know about looking at industry best practices, but we focus more on peer benchmarking inside and outside of a client’s industry. Just because you work in the mining sector, doesn’t mean you can learn lessons from consumer products.

2. Make slow decisions

There are a million different options for addressing both environmental and social sustainability efforts. For each set of stakeholder groups, there are programs, policies, supply-chain choices, upstream/downstream evaluations, risks, rewards, and more. As a team, and as a company, it’s probably a good idea to take it slow to come up with a really, truly effective program.

3. Find internal motivation

Sustainability professionals often come with buckets of “passion” for doing our kind of work, so this one should be easy. Passion is a motivator, but make sure your sustainability professionals also have the skill set to get the job done.

4. Start from scratch

Ok, so doesn’t this contradict looking for inspiration in unexpected places? Not really. Starting from scratch is more of an exercise. For example, instead of saying, “Let’s use energy efficient lighting and LEED practices in our new headquarters building,” the team should spend time considering, “What is a headquarters?”

A free-flow exercise might generate discussion about work-from-home policies, investing in teleconferencing, and eventually result in a much smaller, more efficient “energy efficient, LEED certified” HQ.

Because of the constantly changing nature of sustainability, this one isn’t hard. New regulations, scientific findings, and processes are always being published. However, if you’ve been stuck in a rut generating the same old sustainability report and waste audit these past few years, maybe it’s time to step it up. Take that risk and try something to really push your sustainability efforts to new gains.

7. Find connections between experiences

Sustainability is not a stand-alone effort focused on just reporting carbon reduction efforts or mitigating supply-chain risks. Sustainability can be found in all areas of your organization, and the world you operate in. From your built environment to your supply chain to your HR policies and everything in between, it is all connected, and the sustainability team should be seeking ways to become the system, not stand outside and report on it.

8. Be open to magic

But magic is about being open to new ideas. At SSC, this generally translates to “reading, a lot.” Wehave a suite of tools help our clients, but if we’re stuck thinking that our products and services “are what they are” then we won’t grow.

Your sustainability efforts should be the same. Read our blog, read business blogs, sustainability articles, research papers, case studies. You’ll start to see the connections and maybe The Great Idea Fairy will visit you!

Has your organization come up with an insanely creative way to be more sustainable? Let us know in the comments!